We were able to take advantage of the Free Dining this trip. For us, it was way too much food - but it was nice to be able to try out some different places.
Liberty Tree Tavern - We had a great meal here. The food was good. The meat was moist and the potatoes yummy. The dessert was so yummy but I was way too full. If you are looking for gourmet, though, this isn't the place for you. It is a good sit-down, old fashioned meal ... but nothing fancy. The taste and temperature of the food was good. Character interaction was just so-so. They came by just long enough to snap a picture but unfortunately there was little "character" in the characters. That is okay, though, we have been so many times that my son wasn't really into the characters anymore.
Grand Floridian Cafe - This place was a disaster for us. We got a new server and he was not very good, at all. In our opinion, they should not put people on the floor until they are ready ... this guy was not ready. I asked for my steak to be cooked with just a line of pink in the middle. The first time it came out it was rare. The second time it was just a little more than rare. The third time it was burnt. And, by the way, did I mention that by the time it finally came back out my entire family was through with the meal and dessert. My husband said his food was so-so ... my son's came out wrong and when I questioned the waiter about it he acted dumbfounded. I finally asked for management -- and they ended up not charging us for the meal. So for us the food and service was horrible. We would not return.
Cape May - dinner - We really enjoy this restaurant - ate there twice. If you are looking for authentic clam bake - don't go here. If you are looking for a nice buffet with lots of variety and some good food - then we enjoyed this. My DH really likes the clams. I like the other side of the buffet. The salad was good. Ribs were tasty and had lots of meat on them. Green Beans were wonderful. Potatoes good. Tilapia was good, too. My DS thought the chicken nuggets were wonderful along with the mac and cheese. Our service was excellent. Kept up on the drinks, cleared our plates, checked back with us. Both times it was great.
Bomas - This is my DH's favorite place. I could leave it except for the prime rib which was very good. The food, according to DH, is tasty and a little on the adventurous side. Lots of different things to try. (I didn't like them but he did). The down side to this buffet is the long wait to get to the prime rib. My DH timed it and it took 15 minutes. I think Disney truly needs to work on this part of it. For us, that is way too long. While my DH would make this a must do on every trip - my DS and I would make it a never do again. Differing opinions. Service was so-so. They had a hard time clearing our dirty plates and we had to ask numerous times for more drinks.
WL Roaring Forks - This food court is okay. We got tired of the menu, though. And, we didn't like the idea that they cooked hamburgers and then left them on the hot serve shelf ... too much of mass production for us. The soups were good. The sandwiches were also yummy along with the salads. We just were wishing for a more expanded counter service option ... but when compared with non-existent counter service at BC/YC this was a nice change.
Wilderness Lodge - Whispering Canyon - Breakfast - My DH had a hard time getting passed the "anticks" that went with the atmosphere here. He didn't care for the soda (for those of you who know) in terms of glass size. They brought him a new one and we were fine. Ketchup was on the table - thank goodness. The food was luke warm and not always hot. My DS loved the mickey waffles and the fact that the syrup was hot was very nice. The bacon was a tad on the undercooked side for us. Overall our experience here was that it was okay but definitely would not be on our must do again list. It is a good option if you are at the lodge but nothing we would go out of our way to go to in the future.
The biggest disappointment for us this trip was Park Fare -- we were there the first day it opened back up for breakfast. I am hoping that is the reason. The bread pudding which I die for ... was burnt and dry. The vanilla sauce was watered down and thin. The person cooking the omelets was very slow and skimpy on putting stuff in them. I had to ask her three times to just get enough ham to make it look like there was ham in the omelet. The other food was not memorable although adequate. This was always a must do on our list and boy were we disappointed. I am hoping that future reports will show that it was just opening jitters.
Kona Cafe - Breakfast - This was wonderful. My DS said it was the best Ham and Cheese omelet he has had in his whole life. I really enjoyed what I got of it. The overall service was wonderful and we enjoyed the food tremendously. I would highligh recommend this place.
We did some counter service - Caseys (mK) hot dogs, corn dogs, etc. Good quick food. Typical counter service. McDonalds in AK - typical McDonalds -- what more can one say. Pizza Planet in MGM - the pizza was good and the deal meal more than we could eat. The salads were okay as far as prepacked salads go.
In the end, this is the first trip I have ever gained weight - 5 pounds. Now I am home trying to lose what I found. The DDP was way more food than we would normally eat. That said, we only paid $300 more for our package with dining plan (it had one day base tickets) than what we were paying with an AP discount on room only. There is no way I could have fed the three of us on $300 ... so it was a money saver for us -- this year. Not so sure about next year though with the changes...I did do the bounceback with free dining but will see what room discounts come out since I have until 45 days out to cancel.
Liberty Tree Tavern - We had a great meal here. The food was good. The meat was moist and the potatoes yummy. The dessert was so yummy but I was way too full. If you are looking for gourmet, though, this isn't the place for you. It is a good sit-down, old fashioned meal ... but nothing fancy. The taste and temperature of the food was good. Character interaction was just so-so. They came by just long enough to snap a picture but unfortunately there was little "character" in the characters. That is okay, though, we have been so many times that my son wasn't really into the characters anymore.
Grand Floridian Cafe - This place was a disaster for us. We got a new server and he was not very good, at all. In our opinion, they should not put people on the floor until they are ready ... this guy was not ready. I asked for my steak to be cooked with just a line of pink in the middle. The first time it came out it was rare. The second time it was just a little more than rare. The third time it was burnt. And, by the way, did I mention that by the time it finally came back out my entire family was through with the meal and dessert. My husband said his food was so-so ... my son's came out wrong and when I questioned the waiter about it he acted dumbfounded. I finally asked for management -- and they ended up not charging us for the meal. So for us the food and service was horrible. We would not return.
Cape May - dinner - We really enjoy this restaurant - ate there twice. If you are looking for authentic clam bake - don't go here. If you are looking for a nice buffet with lots of variety and some good food - then we enjoyed this. My DH really likes the clams. I like the other side of the buffet. The salad was good. Ribs were tasty and had lots of meat on them. Green Beans were wonderful. Potatoes good. Tilapia was good, too. My DS thought the chicken nuggets were wonderful along with the mac and cheese. Our service was excellent. Kept up on the drinks, cleared our plates, checked back with us. Both times it was great.
Bomas - This is my DH's favorite place. I could leave it except for the prime rib which was very good. The food, according to DH, is tasty and a little on the adventurous side. Lots of different things to try. (I didn't like them but he did). The down side to this buffet is the long wait to get to the prime rib. My DH timed it and it took 15 minutes. I think Disney truly needs to work on this part of it. For us, that is way too long. While my DH would make this a must do on every trip - my DS and I would make it a never do again. Differing opinions. Service was so-so. They had a hard time clearing our dirty plates and we had to ask numerous times for more drinks.
WL Roaring Forks - This food court is okay. We got tired of the menu, though. And, we didn't like the idea that they cooked hamburgers and then left them on the hot serve shelf ... too much of mass production for us. The soups were good. The sandwiches were also yummy along with the salads. We just were wishing for a more expanded counter service option ... but when compared with non-existent counter service at BC/YC this was a nice change.
Wilderness Lodge - Whispering Canyon - Breakfast - My DH had a hard time getting passed the "anticks" that went with the atmosphere here. He didn't care for the soda (for those of you who know) in terms of glass size. They brought him a new one and we were fine. Ketchup was on the table - thank goodness. The food was luke warm and not always hot. My DS loved the mickey waffles and the fact that the syrup was hot was very nice. The bacon was a tad on the undercooked side for us. Overall our experience here was that it was okay but definitely would not be on our must do again list. It is a good option if you are at the lodge but nothing we would go out of our way to go to in the future.
The biggest disappointment for us this trip was Park Fare -- we were there the first day it opened back up for breakfast. I am hoping that is the reason. The bread pudding which I die for ... was burnt and dry. The vanilla sauce was watered down and thin. The person cooking the omelets was very slow and skimpy on putting stuff in them. I had to ask her three times to just get enough ham to make it look like there was ham in the omelet. The other food was not memorable although adequate. This was always a must do on our list and boy were we disappointed. I am hoping that future reports will show that it was just opening jitters.
Kona Cafe - Breakfast - This was wonderful. My DS said it was the best Ham and Cheese omelet he has had in his whole life. I really enjoyed what I got of it. The overall service was wonderful and we enjoyed the food tremendously. I would highligh recommend this place.
We did some counter service - Caseys (mK) hot dogs, corn dogs, etc. Good quick food. Typical counter service. McDonalds in AK - typical McDonalds -- what more can one say. Pizza Planet in MGM - the pizza was good and the deal meal more than we could eat. The salads were okay as far as prepacked salads go.
In the end, this is the first trip I have ever gained weight - 5 pounds. Now I am home trying to lose what I found. The DDP was way more food than we would normally eat. That said, we only paid $300 more for our package with dining plan (it had one day base tickets) than what we were paying with an AP discount on room only. There is no way I could have fed the three of us on $300 ... so it was a money saver for us -- this year. Not so sure about next year though with the changes...I did do the bounceback with free dining but will see what room discounts come out since I have until 45 days out to cancel.
